I think you're being way too pessimistic... really. This is a manifestation of the way Alcatel-Lucent has run their business. They suck. There are still plenty of companies (USA and otherwise) collaborating with academia, funding research and advancing science.
Could we do more? Sure, but the sky is not falling simply because a second rate company can no longer afford first rate research.
True, but prodding and breaking up monopolies/centralized control structures allowed for greater innovation, such as: cell phones, ability to choose phone providers, and being able to actually purchase your own home phone.
Isn't there some kind of crackpot theory that the Oort cloud houses an extra "dark star" that disrupts our solar system once every eon or so?
Anybody know if this a theory, or I'm I just ready for bed? I can't seem to find any info on it.
Maybe I heard it on Art Bell years ago, in which case I AM ready for bed...
Very interesting. Kind of like the astronauts whose muscles will atrophy without exercise without gravity, except in this case, it's the joints and ligaments.
Maybe some kind of regular physical therapy limb movement or (yeah, sounds weird...) even electric treatment?
Stairs are around 2:15, but the whole vid is interesting. Looks like movements like sitting and climbing stairs are input by the user by hand. I'd imagine the stairs probably have to be at a predefined slope.
I've never seen this... not that I'm doubting you, I very well could be unaware of this type of action, esp as it relates to the UK. Do you have a source?
This is actually a relatively new phenomenon (and I happen to agree with it). The "shield" between corporation and executive has been steadily less powerful over the past few decades.
I agree that willful, wanton negligence should be punishable by targeting the executives (think: misstating financials, squandering company money, etc)... but could you really hold an executive liable for something like a data center breach?
Wouldn't that just encourage massive cover-ups of customer theft, coming down like a hammer on any screw-ups on the part of IT folks for minor mistakes (think they won't fire you on the spot if their ass is on the line?), and a competitive disadvantage for data centers operating in the US?
Yes, this argument has emotional appeal, but I still maintain that, in the end it's unworkable from a practical standpoint.
Interesting in theory, completely impractical in practice.
they have always born the responsibility of the company's actions.
False. Corporations were constructed ~500 years ago specifically for the purpose of shielding people from personal liability. It unlocked capital for plenty of things that were just too risky if you had exposed everything you owned, everything you've worked for your entire life to being taken because of a mistake.
Ok, you put these executives in jail for losing data. Who is going to be an executive? What if you could be prosecuted criminally for introducing a bug in the Linux kernel that resulted in death? Would you be a programmer?
If a COMPANY is being prosecuted criminally, you obviously cannot have jail time, because it's a non-person.
However, you can (and IMO should) have much stiffer penalties than civil courts allow. When a data security breach is so bad to as harm society itself, it should be prosecuted criminally - this is the doctrine for criminal prosecution of companies. Criminal penalties can range from massive monetary damages, to shutting the entire company down, or forcing changes in management. This is the correct route to go.
Obviously, if the implication is that the IT workers themselves should be thrown in jail, this is absurd and would cause all kinds of damage, both foreseeable and unintended.
No, I don't always disagree with the opinions of fox news (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), I disagree with the way they represent themselves as dispensing "news" while interjecting their own opinions into the mix. News is great, commentary is great, but the two should rarely if ever, be confused for each other.
For a great way to dispense news, see The News Hour with Jim Lehrer or CSPAN.
Network news is so-so at best - they use way too many superlatives for my taste. How can this be "the worst economy" or "the most difficult time for working families"? It's not quite as bad as Fox news announcing "another liberal agenda", but it's still annoying.
I vehemently disagree. No one denies having an opinion, but one can certainly relate the events that are happening without interjecting your opinion into the mix.
I would prefer to see the future not look like Fox news.
No, this is not a cliche. When building an argument of any kind (legal, mathematical, whatever), you start with a given and you work from there.
Cliches are for emotional interactions and bad movies; there is no such thing as a cliche when constructing solid arguments - we call this building from a solid foundation.
Blogs (I still hate that word) really should have different levels somehow. Initially, blogs were just people spouting off their opinions, for the most part without having any first hand investigative knowledge or direct contact.
This will let the people who write about this stuff actually ATTEND the meetings they are giving their opinions about.
But I'd still say the overall trend of blogging is a negative one for journalism and disseminating quality information. At least from my experience, unless provided by a major news provider, blogs tend to be a means for someone to advance their opinion, as opposed to report the news (though they may call it reporting).
This decentralization has really deteriorated the quality of reporting as news outlets have had to slash their budgets. I really don't know how the news industry will recover, or if it will.
Lastly, who invents these stupid words anyway? I mean "the web" was cool, but it's just been downhill from there.
I don't know what the deal is with this company, but they are literally crooks. I don't know how they are staying out of jail and in business. I won't waste the space or time into getting into the particulars, but they have been investigated by the FTC a number of times and even been called to testify before congressional panels for their assholishness.
They first got their hooks in my girlfriend after asking for money for firefighters days after 9/11. Ever since, I cannot get them to stop calling. Of the money they collect for "charity" they take 80+% for fund raising fees. And many times the charities themselves are not distributing money efficiently. It literally astonishes me that this is actually something people do.
Slashdot Mirror
I think you're being way too pessimistic... really. This is a manifestation of the way Alcatel-Lucent has run their business. They suck. There are still plenty of companies (USA and otherwise) collaborating with academia, funding research and advancing science.
Could we do more? Sure, but the sky is not falling simply because a second rate company can no longer afford first rate research.
True, but prodding and breaking up monopolies/centralized control structures allowed for greater innovation, such as: cell phones, ability to choose phone providers, and being able to actually purchase your own home phone.
The only solution... what does CmdrTaco think?
Isn't there some kind of crackpot theory that the Oort cloud houses an extra "dark star" that disrupts our solar system once every eon or so?
Anybody know if this a theory, or I'm I just ready for bed? I can't seem to find any info on it. Maybe I heard it on Art Bell years ago, in which case I AM ready for bed...
I can one up even that... how about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Force
Very interesting. Kind of like the astronauts whose muscles will atrophy without exercise without gravity, except in this case, it's the joints and ligaments.
Maybe some kind of regular physical therapy limb movement or (yeah, sounds weird...) even electric treatment?
the planetoid Sedna
Wouldn't that be a plutoid?
Stairs are around 2:15, but the whole vid is interesting. Looks like movements like sitting and climbing stairs are input by the user by hand. I'd imagine the stairs probably have to be at a predefined slope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQRQs-N-ZIM
Obesity IS solved. Just don't eat more calories than you burn.
In reading TFA, the author was really kissing Sony's a**. Not one "this could've been better" or "this was a little shaky".
Kind of a fluff piece.
Nothing to add to title...
I've never seen this... not that I'm doubting you, I very well could be unaware of this type of action, esp as it relates to the UK. Do you have a source?
Officers are criminally liable for their actions
This is actually a relatively new phenomenon (and I happen to agree with it). The "shield" between corporation and executive has been steadily less powerful over the past few decades.
I agree that willful, wanton negligence should be punishable by targeting the executives (think: misstating financials, squandering company money, etc)... but could you really hold an executive liable for something like a data center breach?
Wouldn't that just encourage massive cover-ups of customer theft, coming down like a hammer on any screw-ups on the part of IT folks for minor mistakes (think they won't fire you on the spot if their ass is on the line?), and a competitive disadvantage for data centers operating in the US?
Yes, this argument has emotional appeal, but I still maintain that, in the end it's unworkable from a practical standpoint.
they have always born the responsibility of the company's actions.
False. Corporations were constructed ~500 years ago specifically for the purpose of shielding people from personal liability. It unlocked capital for plenty of things that were just too risky if you had exposed everything you owned, everything you've worked for your entire life to being taken because of a mistake.
Ok, you put these executives in jail for losing data. Who is going to be an executive? What if you could be prosecuted criminally for introducing a bug in the Linux kernel that resulted in death? Would you be a programmer?
If a COMPANY is being prosecuted criminally, you obviously cannot have jail time, because it's a non-person.
However, you can (and IMO should) have much stiffer penalties than civil courts allow. When a data security breach is so bad to as harm society itself, it should be prosecuted criminally - this is the doctrine for criminal prosecution of companies. Criminal penalties can range from massive monetary damages, to shutting the entire company down, or forcing changes in management. This is the correct route to go.
Obviously, if the implication is that the IT workers themselves should be thrown in jail, this is absurd and would cause all kinds of damage, both foreseeable and unintended.
Yeah, the average person wouldn't be inclined to believe life would be more likely to be on a moon covered with methane, but we're GEEKS
We know that there is MORE likely to be life (of a particular type) because of the methane. At least I think we do...
C'mon editors, you should know us better than that.
Offtopic? WTF? Guess someone doesn't know their extra-dimensional directions very well.
I'm looking at my monitor in three dimensions ... wait one second ... okay, I just saw it in four :)
AnaKata
No, I don't always disagree with the opinions of fox news (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), I disagree with the way they represent themselves as dispensing "news" while interjecting their own opinions into the mix. News is great, commentary is great, but the two should rarely if ever, be confused for each other.
For a great way to dispense news, see The News Hour with Jim Lehrer or CSPAN.
Network news is so-so at best - they use way too many superlatives for my taste. How can this be "the worst economy" or "the most difficult time for working families"? It's not quite as bad as Fox news announcing "another liberal agenda", but it's still annoying.
Brazil has the highest value among developing countries and surprise..surprise...it has the highest kidnappings (emphasis mine)
... OP quotes stats...
Buckle up ladies & gentlemen...kidnapping culture is not far away from us.
By saying kidnapping culture is not far away from us, the OP is making the implicit assertion that one causes the other.
I vehemently disagree. No one denies having an opinion, but one can certainly relate the events that are happening without interjecting your opinion into the mix.
I would prefer to see the future not look like Fox news.
No, this is not a cliche. When building an argument of any kind (legal, mathematical, whatever), you start with a given and you work from there.
Cliches are for emotional interactions and bad movies; there is no such thing as a cliche when constructing solid arguments - we call this building from a solid foundation.
Blogs (I still hate that word) really should have different levels somehow. Initially, blogs were just people spouting off their opinions, for the most part without having any first hand investigative knowledge or direct contact.
This will let the people who write about this stuff actually ATTEND the meetings they are giving their opinions about.
But I'd still say the overall trend of blogging is a negative one for journalism and disseminating quality information. At least from my experience, unless provided by a major news provider, blogs tend to be a means for someone to advance their opinion, as opposed to report the news (though they may call it reporting).
This decentralization has really deteriorated the quality of reporting as news outlets have had to slash their budgets. I really don't know how the news industry will recover, or if it will.
Lastly, who invents these stupid words anyway? I mean "the web" was cool, but it's just been downhill from there.
I don't know what the deal is with this company, but they are literally crooks. I don't know how they are staying out of jail and in business. I won't waste the space or time into getting into the particulars, but they have been investigated by the FTC a number of times and even been called to testify before congressional panels for their assholishness.
They first got their hooks in my girlfriend after asking for money for firefighters days after 9/11. Ever since, I cannot get them to stop calling. Of the money they collect for "charity" they take 80+% for fund raising fees. And many times the charities themselves are not distributing money efficiently. It literally astonishes me that this is actually something people do.
http://civicdevelopment.net/cdg_vs_me (this is not me, just an interesting story about CDG)
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1666http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1666
Blows my f%^&** mind